Ride to Work Day: the journey, the verdict

Organisers have hailed this year’s Ride to Work Day a huge success, with an estimated 40,000 Victorians pedalling their way to workplaces this morning.

Rain and cool conditions in some areas did not deter riders forming part of a national contingent of about 150,000, making this year’s turn out the biggest in the event’s six-year history.

There was a good buzz in the suburbs during the ride to the CBD.

Bicycle Network Victoria marketing communications coordinator Emma Gallus-Jones was delighted with the number of people who opted for the bike over the car or public transport.

Riders gather at Federation Square for Ride to Work Day.

‘‘It’s a 20 per cent increase on last year so we’re thrilled,’’ she said.

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‘‘We won’t have the final numbers for a couple of weeks, but it’s so promising. We’ve got 150,000 people registered nationally, so it’s amazing.

‘‘The tweets that are coming in are very, very positive and the more people we get out there the better it’s going to be for everyone.’’

While many participants rode straight to work, some visited public sites such as Federation Square, where cyclists had the chance to get their bikes looked over, were given breakfast and shared tales of their commute.

Stephanie Weiser and Burim Boonwarit rode said they encountered plenty of cyclists on their 40-minute commute from Reservoir, so many that there was a bicycle jam in Canning Street, in Carlton North.

‘‘It’s just good to get everybody making an effort and getting everybody together. There was a good buzz in the suburbs during the ride to the CBD,’’ Ms Weiser said.

Mr Boonwarit said there were enormous benefits in commuting regularly by bicycle to his workplace at RMIT University.

‘‘You get so much energy in the morning and also you don’t have to rely on public transport, which is pretty unreliable,’’ he said.

‘‘A drive would take nearly twice as much time. Public transport is nearly the same amount of time from door to door. But cycling is healthier, cheaper and you don’t have to wait.’’

Iain Kiernan and his wife, Sue Ryman-Kiernan, said their ride took about 30 minutes from Glen Iris, along the Gardiner Creek Trail.

Mr Kiernan, an IT consultant, said he rode to work regularly, and his commute doubled as a work-out.

‘‘Often I go a bit further just to do a bit of fitness work. It’s about a 10-kilometre ride but often I’ll do about 30 kilometres just to do some more exercise,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s primarily fitness. But it’s also as quick as driving or taking the tram. It’s less expensive and more environmentally friendly and its also a bit of a community thing as well, not only my work community but the wider community.’’

Ms Ryman-Kiernan was not obliged to ride today as she works from home as an events manager. But she did so to be involved and said Melbourne was improving as a bike-friendly city.

‘‘It’s getting there. It varies. People can be a rude in their cars, but the cycle tracks and lanes definitely help, so the more of those the better,’’ she said.

‘‘We’re very lucky in that we can come right in to the city and it’s off-road, which is fantastic.’’

Ride to Work ambassador Charlie Pickering, a comedian and co-host of The 7PM Project, said he took up cycling to work about three years ago, but ‘‘wished I’d begun 10 years ago’’.

He said he discovered how much quicker it was to get around on two wheels when he bought a bike while performing at the Edinburgh Festival, and continued riding to improve his fitness.

‘‘From there it went to a commute to a hobby to a passion to an obsession. On top of my commute I do lots of hours of cycling and it’s really transformed the way I approach life and the way I feel about myself,’’ he said.

‘‘It was this very simple ingredient that I added to my life that has made it a lot better. I rode to school as a kid and rode everywhere as a kid.

Mr Pickering said Melbourne had the potential to become a ‘‘great cycling city’’ and said he urged his fans and Twitter followers to register as cyclists so they could pressure governments to allocate more resources.

‘‘Part of it’s infrastructure, part of it’s planning so that bike lanes connect with the right streets and cyclists have their space on the road and it doesn’t make it harder for motorists to use the road,’’ he said.

‘‘But it’s also attitude between cytclists and motorists and it’s a two-way street. Cyclists need to improve their attitude to obey all of the road rules so they’re not pissing off the drivers, and drivers need to understand that cyclists have a right to be on the road regardless of how they may feel.

‘‘There’s room for everyone, there’s no need for antagonism and the fact is cyclists are far more vulnerable. We have to remember that.’’

Ms Gallus-Jones said the Bicycle Network Victoria aimed to encourage this year’s first-time participants to continue commuting by bicycle.

She said 55 per cent of first-time riders who took part in last year’s event were still riding regularly six months later

How was your ride to work? Post a comment below...

81 comments

And if you want to mix it up a bit and still be environmentally friendly, try ride sharing / car pooling: coseats.com

Commenter

Torsten

Date and time

October 12, 2011, 9:46AM

Keep it up folks! The first is always the hardest - it gets easier and easier.

Commenter

CB

Date and time

October 12, 2011, 9:56AM

Everyday is ride to work day for me, I could never return to the frustration and aggravation of driving a car or waiting for public transport.

Commenter

Patrick

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

October 12, 2011, 9:57AM

That's right - I thought I was weaving around a lot more riders this morning... Congrat's to the organisers for working on this day and getting such a high participation rate.I'm just disappointed I was running late for work and didn't have time to drop in to Fed Square for a free brekky.

Commenter

Andyroo

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

October 12, 2011, 10:01AM

Garbage - maybe up about 20% on a normal morning. Emma, you do no one any favours by exaggerating the numbers. A couple of dozen cyclists in Canning Street doesn't represent the overall numbers.

Commenter

Anthony

Location

Peoples Republic of Moreland

Date and time

October 12, 2011, 10:14AM

I was into bikes before it was cool.

Commenter

Gerald

Location

Reservoir

Date and time

October 12, 2011, 10:21AM

Was going to ride in this morning, but was raining at home this morning.

Well done to everyone that got out there. The best thing is, you will get home tonight and have done your exericse for the day... no heading to the gym after work or anything!

Commenter

Jase

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

October 12, 2011, 10:26AM

@ CB god I hope so... it's been a while...

Anyhoo - did enjoy it despite the rain. I must say, however, I wouldn't do it all if I wasn't lucky enough to have a bike trail door to door (10kms).

Commenter

aj

Location

melb

Date and time

October 12, 2011, 10:27AM

All very good. On the same day, 8.7 million drove to work in Melbourne out of necessity. 1.1 million commuted by public transport. 1.5 million walked! So can we please have some perspective? For 98.5% of workers riding a bike is not an option. What part of this fact don't the cycling lobby and in-love-with-green politicians understand?

Also, we all agree there are crazy, stupid and dangerous drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. But the thing that irks me and many others is how drivers and pedestrians are accountable and regularly get hit with fines and charges for being reckless, stupid and dangerous. Then we have the anonymous, reckless, dangerous and stupid cyclists who regularly do their stuff and pedal off with impunity (usually giving the bird sign behind them). If everyone on the road who was reckless, stupid and dangerous was able to be identified and fined / charged, a lot of steam would go out this road warfare and there would be more respect between all road users.

Commenter

Perspective and equality please?

Date and time

October 12, 2011, 10:30AM

SHOWERS!!!!!! it's not just a lack of suitable safe riding lanes; the CBD buildings have perhaps 2 showers for the whole floor. So there are MAMILs sprawled around, assaulting the eyes and noses awaiting their turn. Yeck.